Photographer's Note

S.S. Maheno

The ship wreck Maheno is one of the tourist attractions of the 75 miles beach in the Fraser Island. It is seen and photographed by thousands of tourists which visit the island every year.

Of course, being part of a guided tour I could not miss it. The shot was taken at the worst time of day for photography and after a few passes in post-processing I came up with this BW presentation. Hope you like it.

Next, is some info about S.S. Maheno found in Wikipedia (where else?!!!!!):

The S.S. Maheno was an Edwardian liner on the Tasman Sea crossing between New Zealand and Australia, and was used as a hospital ship by the New Zealand division of the Royal Navy during World War I.
A landmark on 75 Mile Beach in Fraser Island is the shipwreck of the Maheno. Maheno was originally built in 1905 in Scotland as a luxury passenger ship for trans-Tasman crossings. During the First World War the ship served as a hospital ship in the Mediterranean, Gallipoli, and the English Channel, before returning to a luxury liner. In 1935, the ship was declared outdated and on June 25, 1935 the ship was being towed from Melbourne to Japan for scrap metal when it was caught in a strong cyclone. A few days later, on July 9 1935 she drifted ashore and was beached on Fraser Island. During the Second World War the Maheno served as target bombing practice for the RAAF. The ship has since become severely rusted. Climbing on the shipwreck is not permitted.

This is a fabulous image in b&w, the ghostly wreck of the S. S. Maheno, surrounded by veritable apparitions milling about. What a noble history, and what stories this relic could tell, if it could speak. I love this surrealist work.

Your B&W is a very wise choice, the brightness would had washed out the sky completely I guess. Using this format your shot does justice to the wrack, which was not such a peaceful history like my fishing boats. I like your composition, it's excellent. Well done

With you B&W conversion, this onle look a bit like a view of the first bathers at the start of the 20th century.
The ships looks a bit secondary here. To bad for me because I like shipwrecks, especially for the variation of rust colors in steels ships.

Hola Antonio,
Que buena foto en blanco y negro !! It's not so easy to find B&W photographs, and honestly speaking, I love them very much. In this particular one, I agree with you to do it like this. An old boat, a ghost boat and the visitors just looking around ...
Wonderful shot. Love it.
Un abrazo,
Roser

Hi Antonio, A very interesting photo nicely captured in B/W, there seems to be lots of girls & very few men, it's buzy with all the people & the wreck in at a good angle to the lens, I like the bright light, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

The reflection on wet sand bank and rusted texture of wreck of S.S. Maheno is just amazing. I like your crop and your excellent timing while most of visitors busy with wreck. Of course posting in B&W medium is skillful idea. Congratulations.

Ola Antonio, I can't resist a shipwreck. This is an excellent photo of this quite famous Australia shipwreck. I like the choice of B&W and the reflections on the sand create such a timeless atmosphere. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the best for 2010. Warm regards, Lisa

Hello Antonio
By converting to B & W this photo could almost seem like a photo from the past - only the girls' clothing and the ?tripod seem to be from the present. Nice reflections. Tfs and have a nice New year, Marlene

Hi Antonio, your choice of B&W has provided an excellent image. Being familiar with the harsh light in Australia I can image the original. The image really gives a timeless feel, which could have been made decades ago. nice work. cheers, Steve

Excellent capture-the old ship wreck and its reflection, the beach people, all in b&w. Also in Romania there is a sea resort, named Costinesti (near the Black Sea), where one of the main attractions is an old abandoned boat, much bigger than this-a commercial Greek vessel, it seems (it is called "Epava", the Wreck.). The difference is that "our" boat is not on the beach, but at sea, not far from the coast. The great challenge was to swim to the ship wreck (sa inoti pana la epava).